Marshall Schurtz
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marshallschurtz.com
Marshall Schurtz
@marshallschurtz.com
PhD in Mesopotamian Archaeology | Founder | Tour Operator | Traveler

✈️ Lead archaeology themed trips at merakivatravel.com

📍Philadelphia
Pinned
Hello Bluesky! A bit about me:

I completed my PhD in Mesopotamian Archaeology at Penn a few years ago.

After some time in corporate life, I decided to start a company to make archaeology interesting (& more accessible) to a new generation.

Centered around travel, I created merakivatravel.com
Merakiva Travel - Home - Group Trips for Millennials and Zillennials | History & Culture
Group trips around the world for the social, curious traveler. Crafted for ages 25-45, our trips combine adventure with comfort.
merakivatravel.com
Mesopotamian Archaeology Humor
October 28, 2025 at 12:50 PM
So the new Spotify co-CEO names literally translate to:

North-stream
South-stream

Or you could view it as... Upstream & Downstream

Sounds like something out of a bad book
September 30, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Shouldn’t be lost on people that often it’s the military that stands up to dictators, when the dictatorial thugs are in the streets

Don’t think we are anywhere close to there but… history is history.
June 13, 2025 at 12:19 AM
If you’re wondering how doing my business taxes is going… well
March 17, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I'm still a believer in taxes, but...

Being on the business owner side, I get the anti-tax sentiment!

What do you mean I'm paying $412 in taxes to get $1000 in take home salary??

Obviously that's including both employee and employer taxes, but sheesh.
March 10, 2025 at 5:45 PM
It's very funny to me that I joined Bluesky because of all the academics and tech people but I use it 99% to just read about NFL news...

I left Twitter in 2020 and had been missing that sports "live tweeting" ever since
March 10, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Hm. My #Youtube demographics are... skewed.
January 29, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Completely infuriating that 99% Democrats are acting like we're still in an Aaron Sorkin drama
we have a president with a tenuous grip on small legislative majorities who is out of the gate with a flurry of dramatically unpopular orders and who has just demonstrated his weakness on the international stage. if i were an elected member of his domestic opposition, i might try to draw real blood.
January 28, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Well, all of the Trump actions in the FIRST WEEK are bad, and I get the 1930s Germany comparison.

But... can't imagine that Germany in the 30s so obviously just hurt the entire population, so quickly, for no good reason.
January 28, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by Marshall Schurtz
The folks obsessively posting about egg prices for the past few years have gone strangely quiet just as egg prices hit an all-time high.
January 23, 2025 at 8:08 PM
The YouTube shorts algorithm... in one picture
January 23, 2025 at 3:53 AM
One thing I've learned in 1.5 years of #entrepreneurship is how exponential growth feels, when you're starting from 0...

All good to hear "wow in 6 years I built my biz to $1m by growing 2x every year" but that means year 1 was like $10k...

And that's ok! 2x, 2x, 2x, 2x...
January 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Who knew I studied 9 years just to fight N*zis
We see you, Elon.
January 20, 2025 at 11:41 PM
This, tbh, was the failure of the TikTok ban

Saying “China has your data” doesn’t seem scary. Give examples of what they could be doing… maybe people get that
It was never clear why I should be worried about China having my data. It is crystal clear why I should be worried about the red US Gov't having that same data
January 20, 2025 at 8:32 PM
I didn’t join Bluesky because it’s not owned by billionaires but now… I’m glad that it isn’t and I’m here

#atproto #inauguration #democracy #oligarchy
January 20, 2025 at 8:29 PM
I’ve heard that @skylight.social is coming to BlueSky, so want to make sure have videos to take advantage of that!
Archaeologists are performing a colonoscopy… on a book?

#archaeology #medieval #video #explainer #archaeologynews
January 20, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by Marshall Schurtz
Archaeologists are performing a colonoscopy… on a book?

#archaeology #medieval #video #explainer #archaeologynews
January 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM
The new BlueSky video feature is… actually pretty good??

It feels like a lo-fi version of TikTok but also feels natural. Hopefully we get people posting more native video here!
January 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Marshall Schurtz
This week in Archaeology news!

- A 1 Mile long secret tunnel under Cusco
- Genetic study shows Iron Age Britain was women-led
- Lasers help reveal tattoos on mummies

No One Knows Why the Inca Built This Secret Tunnel Under Cusco | Archaeology News
youtu.be/c4NSbs1lTng
No One Knows Why the Inca Built This Secret Tunnel Under Cusco | Archaeology News
YouTube video by Archaeolist | Archaeology News & Interviews
youtu.be
January 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
For Archaeology fans on Bluesky, I’m launching a weekly #archaeology news channel! 🏺

Check out the first ep here
(Plz only click if you watch so doesn’t ruin my retention rate 🙏):

youtu.be/yWPMJxYsTns
They Found Ancient Egypt's Royal Snake Doctor (4,000 Year Old Tomb) | Archaeology News
YouTube video by Archaeolist | Archaeology News & Interviews
youtu.be
January 15, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Marshall Schurtz
Trump's Greenland obsession is a very concrete example of why the Mercator projection is bad.
January 8, 2025 at 12:27 AM
The gap between current "reasoning" models and AGI is really obvious when you just have it do... scheduling.

It *can* eventually get to an answer, but even just dealing with some simple "don't book during a holiday" logic it takes quite long and isn't 100% correct.
January 8, 2025 at 9:19 PM
I was down on 2024 progress but actually ran the numbers…

Have to be happy with the wins.

#buildinpublic #alwayssunny #iasip
January 7, 2025 at 10:07 PM
What do we think about the Netflix NFL score graphic?

Kind of feels like the NBC version. All the info is pretty obvious… I don’t hate it?

#nfl
December 25, 2024 at 6:18 PM
Just landed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the first time:

First impressions, this is nothing like I expected. Lots more to see, but it’s very modern. Reminds me more of Dubai than I’d seen…

Lots more to come
December 13, 2024 at 6:51 PM